Appeal Possible If Prosecutorial Misconduct Exists

When people are convicted of criminal offenses in Pennsylvania, they may feel as though all hope is gone. However, there are several grounds upon which a criminal appeal can be based, and we at Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg and Gifford have helped many people successfully pursue this option. If we can show that prosecutorial misconduct played a part in someone’s criminal trial, for example, it might result in a favorable outcome for the convicted person.

According to a report by the Innocence Project, the existence of prosecutorial misconduct in a person’s trial can lead to verdict reversals or remanded indictments. In order for this to happen, the appellant (the convicted person) must show evidence of the misconduct and demonstrate that it resulted in a harmful error.

The Innocence Project notes that pursuing these types of appeals can be challenging. The organization illustrates this point by citing a national study performed by the Center of Public Integrity, which found that appeals alleging prosecutorial misconduct resulted in determinations of harmful error in only 17.6 percent of cases. The Innocence Project also comments on the difficulty of identifying cases of prosecutorial misconduct that involve the suppression of exculpatory evidence, as these are by definition instances in which facts were hidden.

Our law firm understands the challenges posed by initiating an appeal. Because of this, we represent our clients with defense teams as opposed to individual assigned attorneys. By having multiple lawyers review client cases, we improve our chances at discovering any omissions or errors that may amount to grounds for an appeal.